No. 16 West Virginia Squares off Against No. 20 Kansas State in the Quarterfinals of the Big 12 Championship

KANSAS CITY – No. 16 West Virginia meets No. 12 Kansas State on Friday in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Championship.

The Mountaineers come into the weekend having won four of the last five games, including a 70-57 win over the Wildcats on a Monday afternoon in Morgantown. WVU senior guard JJ Quinerly led all scorers with 26 points and junior guard Jordan Harrison put in 18 points while senior forward Kyah Watson recorded 15 rebounds and four steals.

Quinerly and Watson essentially battled each other for Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year. Watson swiped a league-leading 3.3 steals per game but Quinerly, who averaged 3.1 steals per game, earned the title on Monday in addition to an All-Big 12 first team pick. Along with Quinerly, Watson was selected to the All-Big 12 Defensive Team but was arguably snubbed in the voting with an All-Big 12 honorable mention.

Quinerly is averaging a team-high 20.5 points per game, Harrison, a All-Big 12 third team selection, averages a team-best 4.6 assists per game to go with 13.4 points per game, and Watson is the team’s leading rebounder with 7.7 rebounds per game.

Kansas State had multiple All-Big 12 selections. Senior center Ayoka Lee was vying for Big 12 Player of the Year until a season-ending injury in mid-January but was voted to the second team for her efforts.

Kansas State senior guard Serena Sundell averaged a team-high 13.7 ppg in Lee’s absence for an All-Big 12 first team nod, freshman forward Temira Poindexter is second on the team in scoring 12.4 ppg to earn a third team selection, and sophomore guard Zyanna Walker to earn a spot on the All-Big 12 Defensive team.

Kansas State advanced to the quarterfinals with an 80-65 win against UCF Thursday afternoon. Meanwhile, West Virgnia earned a double bye with a fourth-place finish in the conference standings.

The matchup pins the best defense against one of the best offenses in the league. In Big 12 Conference play, West Virginia leads the league in defensive scoring, holding opponents to 57.9 ppg and a conference-best 23.3 forced turnovers per game. Meanwhile, Kansas State led the league in scoring on the year, but with Lee’s injury, the Wildcats were fifth in conference action at 74.3 ppg.

West Virginia holds a 19-9 record against Kansas State. The two programs have met four times in the Big 12 Championship and are split 2-2.

The Mountaineers and the Wildcats tip-off at Noon with the action broadcasting on ESPNU.